The sudden appearance of white smoke is always a sign of a chemical reaction. Appearing above the test tube during laboratory work, it indicates that you have achieved an interaction of substances. White smoke on the stage can surprise the audience, but if it comes from the exhaust pipe of a car, the time has come to check the condition of your "four-wheeled friend".
Necessary
- - chemical vessels;
- - pharmacy or laboratory scales;
- - ammonia;
- - potash (potassium carbonate);
- - ammonia (ammonium chloride);
- - Berthollet's salt;
- - naphthalene;
- - hydrochloric acid;
- - dry ice (carbon dioxide);
- - charcoal;
- - cotton wool.
Instructions
Step 1
You can even arrange a session of chemical tricks with the appearance of white smoke at home. True, some experiments are best carried out outdoors or in a well-ventilated area, because the reaction produces substances that are not the most beneficial to health. Place potassium carbonate in a laboratory glass jar. This is the most common potash you can find at a gardening store. After filling the contents of the flask with hydrochloric acid, you will see thick white smoke. A reaction occurs, as a result of which water vapor is rapidly released, which is white smoke.
Step 2
For the second test, moisten the walls of the beaker with hydrochloric acid. Take very little hydrochloric acid - just a few drops are enough. Wet a piece of cotton wool with ammonia. Place it on a hard surface, such as glass or ceramic, and cover with a glass. This reaction produces ammonium chloride, which also looks like white smoke.
Step 3
Remove dry ice from refrigerator. It is needed for an experience that is available to absolutely everyone and, moreover, is completely safe. Pour the most ordinary tap water into a glass. Better, of course, to use distilled, but it may not always be at hand. Place a piece of ice in the water. White smoke will tumble down immediately and very intensely. In this case, it is water vapor.
Step 4
Experiments with berthollet salt are best done outdoors. To do this kind of trick indoors, you need a good fume hood. Take ammonia, naphthalene, berthollet's salt and charcoal in a ratio of 5: 2: 2: 1 and light it. The composition itself will not burn. You will end up with thick white smoke without fire. It smells rather unpleasant.
Step 5
White smoke without fire can be achieved with paraffin and chromium oxide. Melt a piece of candle on the ceramic surface. Top it all with green chromium oxide powder. Bring the "magic wand", that is, a match. There will be no fire, but there will be a lot of white smoke. In this case, it consists of the smallest particles of paraffin.
Step 6
If white smoke comes out of the exhaust pipe of a car in winter during warming up, everything is fine. While the exhaust system has not yet warmed up, the water contained in the air first condenses and then begins to evaporate. Moreover, the lower the air temperature, the thicker the steam will be.
Step 7
White smoke from the exhaust pipe can appear in the warm season, and at that moment when the engine seems to be well warmed up. This means that coolant has entered the cylinders. The composition of this liquid determines how thick the steam is. Note that oil droplets can also produce white smoke. To determine the composition of the smoke, hold a piece of paper near the exhaust pipe. It is enough to cover the hole for a few minutes. If steam comes out of the pipe, water droplets will appear on the sheet, which will evaporate very quickly. Of course, the oil will make the leaf greasy. In any case, the appearance of white smoke in warm weather and with a warm engine indicates that it is necessary to diagnose some vehicle systems.
